Adopting Death
by Aubrieanna NeonBlack
Summary: A home is where one belongs, but Aubrieanna doesn't belong anywhere. She most certainly doesn't belong at James Potter's house. Maurader Era, original character centric, sequel to And Death Was Framed, but able to stand alone.
1. In Which We Leave St Mungo's

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be writing on fanfiction, would I?**

**Author's Note: This is a sequel to _And Death Was Framed_, however I will try to make it stand alone. Obviously, the more I write they better I become, so this story will be better than my earlier work (I hope) and less painful to read. If you read this and things don't make sense because you haven't read _And Death Was Framed_, please let me know and I will fix the story. Enjoy!**

Aubrieanna crept down the over-sterilized hallway, trying to be invisible. There were always people drifting down the hallways at Saint Mungo's, but most of them were too preoccupied to notice a sickly-looking teenage girl. Aubrieanna's skin had grown even paler since her confinement in Azkaban had resulted in an extended stay in the wizarding world's hospital, and her inability to sleep had returned, allowing dark circles to form under her eyes. She might have looked weak on most days, but today determination had taken over her face. She had a mission.

The voices of two healers carried around the corner. Aubrieanna dove behind a potions cart and waited for them to pass.

"So the Ministry finally found foster parents for Miss De'Muertas?" One asked.

"They're downstairs in Healer Hardgen's office signing the papers as we speak." The other replied. "I hate to say it, but I'll be glad to see her go. The thought of having a Fayne here of all places… It just doesn't sit right with me."

By the time the two healers had come to the end of the hallway, Aubrieanna was already down the stairs that lead to the Healers' offices. She silently moved towards the only occupied office and tried to listen in on the conversation. Healer Hardgen's voice carried easily through the door, but the other voices weren't easily identifiable. Aubrieanna scowled. This was her only chance to discover who she would live with for the next six weeks. The Ministry was picking these people, and that made her nervous.

Aubrieanna didn't have the best relationship with the Ministry. It may have had to do with the fact that her mother had been viewed as a terrorist, or that her half-brother had framed her for a series of gruesome murders. The underlining cause was definitely the fact that she was a Fayne, a member of a powerful magical group that had left "civilized" wizarding society centuries earlier. The Faynes had used their powerful blood-magic to create their own world, Ovalon, and developed a new form of magic.

It wasn't until a civil war ravaged Ovalon that Aubrieanna's mother had attempted to contact the wizarding world for support against the Standard. The modern wizarding world was as repulsed by Fayne magics their ancestors had been centuries ago. Small skirmishes had broken out, but they were nothing compared to the horror occurring in Ovalon. Families were ripped to shreds, and Aubrieanna's had been no exception. Her older sister had joined forces with the Standard and killed their mother, leaving fifteen-year-old Aubrieanna to lead both the House of Death and the fight against the Standard.

Unfortunately, Aubrieanna did not gain her full powers until she became sixteen, and she had been sent to England to live with her father and learn "wizard magic" for her own safety.

_And look how well that worked._Aubrieanna thought. _I was place in jail and spent weeks recovering in a damn hospital. Now I get to live with a family who probably despises my kind because my father abandoned me. _She glared at the door that prevent her from hearing the conversation within. _If I only knew what family I'm to be inflicted on…_

"You know they're looking all over for you upstairs, don't you?" Said a voice behind her.

Aubrieanna instantly jumped up and turned to face… "James Potter?" She hissed as she raised her eyebrows. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I'm here with my parents." He said, smiling. "And why are you sneaking around the basement when the Healers are trying to discharge you? I would think you'd be glad to leave after so many weeks trapped in here."

"I would be glad to get out of here if I knew where I was going." Aubrieanna said. "Now shut up. I need to hear this." She turned back to the door just James reached around her and knocked on it, loudly. She stepped back and looked for a place to hide, but before she could dive behind a cart carrying bandages, James grabbed her shoulder and held her there.

Healer Hardgen's stout figure emerged from his office followed by an older but well-dressed witch and a tall older wizard. Aubrieanna recognized the man as Mr. Potter, but before she could express her surprise, James spoke up.

"I found her, Dad." He said. "Are we ready to go yet?"

Hardgen shook his head. "There are still a few papers for Aubrieanna to sign. If you'll enter the office, we can discharge you immediately."

Aubrieanna enter the small room and looked a the stack of papers sitting on the desk. Mr. Potter followed her in.

"If you just read here and here and sign at the bottom," he said, pointing at various paragraphs, "we can leave."

Slightly bewildered, Aubrieanna skimmed through the papers. _The foster child shall remain in custody of the foster parent until the foster child becomes of age… __The foster child's wand shall be confiscated between school sessions until he or she becomes of age… The foster parent shall be required to provide two meals a day… _Finally, she made it to the last section. _I, Aubrieana De'Muertas, agree to abide by this legally binding contract and recognize John Potter and Vera Potter as my legal guardians._

"_You're_going to be my guardian?" Aubrieanna exclaimed, clearly surprised. She could see James laughing at her from behind his father. Clearly he was enjoying this. She fixed him with a infuriated glare before she remembered that she should probably attempt to not anger her new foster family.

"Yes," Mr. Potter replied, frowning. "Is there a problem with that."

"No." Aubrieanna replied quickly. James as a housemate would be extremely trying, but as far as foster parents go, the Potters were be the best she could have hoped for, but she was surprised that they would be willing to take her in. Mr. Potter had never seemed to actually _like _her, but as the rest of the wizarding world most certainly hated her, she couldn't complain. Shaking off any doubts she had, Aubrieanna placed her signature on the line, trying to remember that saying about thanking God for small favors. Before she had set down her quill, she was embraced by the witch she assumed was Mrs. Potter.

"I just want you to know how happy we are to finally meet you." She said. "Whatever you need to make yourself comfortable, just let us know and…"

"Mum, I think she'd be a lot more comfortable will a little bit of space." James interrupted, still smirking at her.

"Oh, of course." She said, letting go quickly, but proceeding to smooth out the old t-shirt Aubrieanna was wearing.

"If everything is in order, Mr. Hardgen, I think we would like to go home now." Mr. Potter said.

--

"Here we are, dear. Home, sweet home." Mrs. Potter said as the entered the house. Even Aubrieanna, who had grown up in a house that was, at one time, the headquarters of one of the most powerful groups in Ovalon, had to admire the beautiful, red-brick building. It was clearly old, but it was extremely well-cared for and surrounded by gardens that looked like the setting for a storybook. Inside it was no less charming, covered in what Aubrieanna suspected was original antique wall paper and furnished with wooden antiques.

Aubrieanna was still admiring her surroundings when Mr. Potter entered, levitating her trunk. A sudden crack caught Aubrieanna's attention as an aged house elf appeared.

"May I help you, sir?" She asked, her wrinkled ears almost completely obscuring her face.

"A cup of ice tea might be nice, Thea." Mrs. Potter said kindly.

"Are you sure young Johnny doesn't need help with the trunk, Marm?" The elf warbled.

"I think he can manage." Mrs. Potter said kindly. Thea gave Mr. Potter a concerned look, but she obediently went to fetch the beverages.

"That's our house elf." James whispered. "She's really too old to do any heavy work, but she's like an aunt to Dad."

"James, if you've stopped whispering, I think that Thea may be right." Mr. Potter said. "I would like some help with this trunk."

"By help, do you mean carry it up myself?" James asked, smirking.

"It's character building, James." Mr. Potter said before handing him the trunk handle. James started dragging the trunk towards a large staircase with a beautifully carved railing.

"Do you need help?" Aubrieanna offered awkwardly. "I can carry the trunk myself."

"I'm sure you could, but then Mum would find out, and I would be scrubbing the kitchen with a toothbrush. You see, I have to at least pretend to be nice to you for at least a few weeks."

"You sound like you've done this before." Aubrieanna said, following him up the stairs.

"Mum loves to have a full house. I think it's because then there's more people to eat, so she can cook more. Anyway, she's always hosting foreign exchange students, or inviting friends of the family to come visit the country for a while, or just putting up with my friends."

"Is this the first time she's hosted an ex-criminal?" Aubrieanna asked sarcastically.

"Yes, that is, if you don't count Uncle Ernie. Anyway, you have the blue bedroom. There's a bathroom next door on the right, but I would advise you don't go in the room on you left because…" Suddenly, James yelped and staggered backwards.

"You're back!" Shouted a disturbingly familiar voice just before James, the trunk, and the owner of the voice toppled down the stairs, falling right on Aubrieanna.

"Potter," Aubrieanna gasped as she tried to escape the dog pile, "why is Sirius Black sitting on top of me?"

"Well, he's staying in the room on the left, you see." James said slowly. "And he is going to get off us directly."

"I missed you, Yearling." Sirius said, laughing so hard that Aubrieanna could feel him shaking through James _and _the trunk.

"Sirius, if you don't pick a better name, I'm going to stick you with Snuffles." James grunted. "Now get off!"

Finally, Sirius and James got up and proceeded to hit each other repeatedly, allowing Aubrieanna to stand back up. "I can't believe I left Saint Mungo's for this." She said darkly, shaking her head as she dragged her trunk into her room.

--

By the time Aubrieanna had unpacked her trunk, she was beginning to feel tired. She had been too nervous to sleep at all the night before. She laid down on the bed and tried to close her eyes, but she couldn't get comfortable in her new surroundings. Besides, Aubrieanna never had been one for napping. Instead, she stretched her arms as legs as far as they would go and counted flowers.

The blue room, as James had called it, was covered in flowers. The wall paper had large, blue flowers printed on it. The bedspread had blue flowers quilted on to it, and the dresser and bed, which was a very sunny yellow that matched the stripes in the blue drapes, were carved with flowers. It was all very tastefully done, but Aubrieanna found it slightly unsettling. The only thing not covered in flowers was the wooden floor, but it had two area rugs that were adorned with twisting vines.

The window was open and a slight breeze was coming through it. Summer hadn't hit it's hottest yet, and fresh air and natural light was such a treat after having been trapped at Saint Mungo's. _What day is it? _Aubrieanna tried to remember. _My birthday will be in a few weeks._ A feeling of excitement and fear, _no, not fear, anxiety_, filled Aubrieanna. She was turning sixteen. That didn't mean anything in the wizarding world, but at home it was the most important birthday. At age sixteen, Faynes received their full power, but sometimes the power would drive a Fayne mad.

_But once I turn sixteen, I can go home._Aubrieanna told herself, rolling over on her side. A flutter of movement drew her eye to the open window, where she saw two owls. One carried a thin scrap of parchment, the other had a thick envelope with stamps of approval from the Ministry plastered all over it. Aubrieanna quickly scanned the first letter from Lily Evens.

_Glad to hear you're well again. Let me know where they've shipped you off to. _

Quickly wrote down who she was staying with, laughing at the shock it would give to Lily. Before Lily's owl had left the window, Aubrieanna reached out for the thick envelope. _Finally, _she thought _a letter from home._

A complex plethora of spells separated Ovalon from the rest of the world. It was difficult to break through the spells, and Ministry customs didn't speed up the process, so letters from home were few and far between. Additionally, time in Ovalon ran differently from the rest of the world, not at a different speed, necessarily, more like in a different shape. The end result was that Aubrieanna was forever getting letters from either three months ago or two weeks in the future.

This particular letter was from next Thursday. Morgana talked about a new Sonatina she was composing, and Gregory lectured Aubrieanna on diligence to her cause. Bartimaeus complained for two pages about how awful spring cleaning had been, with a whole paragraph dedicated to Aubrieanna's room.

_I honestly don't know how many explosions it must have taken to create that mess. _He wrote. _I measured a total of thirteen square inches of wall that wasn't covered in sheet music, writing, battle plans, maps, or pictures. I couldn't even see the floor, and if I have to tell you one more time to secure the battle-ax on your wall, I'll lose my head. Literally. You're damn lucky you're coming home so quickly, or I would have thrown the whole thing out…_

The best part, however, was the last page. Over one hundred signatures, almost everyone Aubrieanna knew from back home, covered the page that said:

_Counting down to_

_August Twenty-Seventh,_

_The Biggest Birthday of the Century!_


	2. In Which We Play a Piano

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.**

**Author's Note: I would love some more imput for this story. If you know how to make it better, I'd love to listen to you.**

Aubrieanna stretched her arms out, basking in the sun. After one week at the Potter's, her summer had fallen into a comfortable sort of rhythm. Her mornings were spent outside running, jumping, and climbing around the extensive grounds that surrounded the Potter's home. The chance to be outside thrilled her, and strength was slowly reentering her body. The afternoon was mainly spent avoiding James and Sirius's path of destruction. The easiest way to accomplish this was by visiting Thea the house elf for whom James had the highest level of repect for and almost never pranked.

Thea's old age demanded that she took many short breaks throughout the day. The only way these short intermissions were tolerated by the devoted servant was if they were spent playing cards. Aubrieanna had no idea where the elf could have gotten her hands on a Muggle deck of cards, let alone learn how to play fourteen diferent varieties of solitare, but Thea was as excellent a card player as anyone Aubrieanna had ever met, and she was more that willing to share her talents.

While Aubrieanna enjoyed these visits with Thea, the thing she wanted most to do was play the gorgeous piano.

Music had always been a central point in Aubrieanna's life. If she hadn't been destined to become a Fayne war-lord, there was no question in her mind that she would have become a musician. While Aubrieanna could play a variety of instruments, (she was quited passable on the guitar and could sign well enough), her true love was the piano. Unfortunately, pianos were not the most portable of instruments, and she had had to do without one for the past year. The Potters did, however, have a piano. A beautiful baby-grand that Aubrieanna could practically feel under her fingers the moment she laid eyes on it.

The problem was, no one would play it. It was too good a piano _not _to be played, even if it was just by James slamming his hand down on it now and then. The only reason for an instrument of that caliber to not be played was that something was wrong with it. Not that it was out of tune, or that one of the pedals was broken, but some bad memories was associated with it, and Aubrieanna couldn't brign that kind of feeling up, particularly to a family what was being so kind to her.

The truth was, the Potters had been absolutely wonderful. She was allowed to occupy herself however she desired so long as she ate dinner with the family at promptly six o'clock. Even these mandatory dinners were tolerable. Mostly, it consisted of James and Sirius reenacting the days anticts while spraying bits of food everywhere. Eventually, they would be told to calm down by Mr. Potter, and they would obey him for approximate twenty seconds before they launched into a new story.

It was right after one of their lulls that Sirius suddenly picked up his fork and shouted excitedly. "James, look! Prongs!" He point repeatedly to the tip of the fork.

"Yes, Sirius, they're used to eat with. You know, to transfer food from your plate to your mouth without using hands." James replied.

"No, James. Not prongs, Prongs!" Sirius insisted, his face lit up like he was expecting an award any minute.

Suddenly, James raised his eyebrows, as if in awe of his friend's utter brilliance. "Prongs!" He repeated excitedly.

"Bloody brilliant, isn't it?" Sirius demanded smugly.

"Sirius…" Mr. Potter warned.

"It is!" James replied. "And to think I was going to stick you with Snuffles."

"James, be polite at the table please." Mrs. Potter cautioned.

"If it's not going to be Snuffles, what is it?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Padfoot, after my favorite bedtime story…"

"Paddington Bear." Mr. Potter groaned. "If I ever have to read that book again, I swear I'll throw myself out of the window."

"I thought it was a charming book." Mrs. Potter said.

"You didn't have to read it to James every night for two years." Mr. Potter replied.

"Wait, if I was named after a fictional character, why can't we call you the Yearling?" Sirius demanded.

"Because the Yearling dies in the end, Sirius." James replied.

Sirius shrugged, not bothered by this observation. "Padfoot… I like it! Stealthy, secretive…"

"Smelly…" James interjected.

"At least one of those adjectives is accurate." Aubrieanna pointed out.

"Oh yeah!" Sirius replied. "Let me think of some adjectives for you. Haughty, malicious, cruel, sadistic…"

"Sirius, behave yourself." Mr. Potter said.

"Yeah, besides mate, Aubrieanna could beat you up in a second flat." James interjected.

"Only if I rushed things." Aubrieanna said, smirking.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are Satan." Sirius declared.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sirius," Mr. Potter interrupted. "Aubrieanna is as much a guest as you are and…"

"And she's not a criminal, no matter what the Daily Prophet says." Sirius finished before clapping a hand over his mouth, realizing what he had said.

It was to first time Aubrieanna had ever seen Mr. Potter get really, truly angry. "Sirius…."

"It's alright, Mr. Potter." Aubrieanna found herself saying. "Sirius thought I was a sadistic Satanist before he knew about, well about back home."

"And that makes it alright?" Mr. Potter demanded.

"No," Aubrieanna replied, "It just makes me used to ignoring his comments."

In the end, it was Mrs. Potter who ended what could have evolved into an extremely unpleasant argument. "Boys, I'm going into London tomorrow to pick up a cupboard from Ancient Artifacts. You know, the one we had to have repaired after an unfortunate gobstones accident." Both Sirius and James looked rather sheepish at this. "I need you two to help me carry it home, and Thea will come with us to inspect the piece. Of course, John will be at work, so that leaves Aubrieanna all alone."

Instantly, Aubrieanna's mind flashed to the piano. If no one was home, she could play it completely guilt free. A trip to London with two wizards who couldn't apparated would take a while, and the return trip with the cupboard would take even longer. That could give her almost a whole day to devote to music.

"That's fine with me, Mrs. Potter." Aubrieanna replied.

"You're sure you don't need to shop for anything?" She asked.

"Not until we get our school lists." Aubrieanna replied quickly. "Really, I'd just be in your way, and I'm sure you'll have enough to handle with those two." She said, glaring at Sirius and James.

"Well, If you're sure." Mrs. Potter said, and just like that, Aubrieanna gained hold of the piano.

--

The house was empty by nine o'clock. Mrs. Potter had made sure that Aubrieanna was sufficiently supplied with sandwiches, and Thea had left her a spare deck of cards on the kitchen table, just in case Aubrieanna found herself getting bored. It took Aubrieanna a total of twenty-seven seconds to escape from Mrs. Potter's farewell hug and seat herself down on the piano bench. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to play. That lasted all of five seconds.

For two hours, Aubrieanna just played. She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be able to lose herself in her own music. She had also forgotten how marathon piano playing led to sore hands. All of her fingers that had ever been broken, and there were quite a few of them, were sore and beginning to lock in place by the time she paused for lunch. Munching on a roast beef sandwich, Aubrieanna took out a piece of paper and sketched out a melody that had been hovering in her head. Humming to herself, she finished the last bite of sandwich and went back to the piano to test out her new song.

Within the hour, the short melody had been expanded and filled out. Aubrieanna was just working on a transition for a key change when she realized someone was watching her.

She felt the eyes on her back, and waited minute for her audience to announce their presence and stop her. Soon, however, it became apparent that her audience was not willing to announce themselves. Aubrieanna determinedly continued playing. If she was going to get in trouble, she may as well be punished good and proper.

She launched into one of her favorite pieces, flooding every chord with emotion. When she reached the end of the song, she heard a small cough behind her. Unable to ignore it anymore, Aubrieanna turned around, bringing her face to face with Mr. Potter.

"I haven't heard anyone play the piano that well in seventeen years." He whispered. "Where did you learn to play?"

"My mother at first." Aubrieanna replied carefully. "Later, music was really the only thing I was interested in at school."

"It's a really talent. I never could get the hang of it. My sister could, though. She could really play. This was her piano…" He frowned as he trailed off, reminiscing.

"I'm sorry…" Aubrieanna started, although she wasn't entirely sure what all she should be sorry for.

"Don't be. You should be able to play; it sounds very nice." Despite his reassurances, Mr. Potter looked almost pained. "Don't let me interrupt. I'm just here to get my lunch." He paused. "Do you know Pachabel's Cannon?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Would you play it for me?"

"Of course." Aubrieanna replied, settling her hands down on the keys.

--

Dinner that night was more awkward than usual. Mr. Potter was absolutely silent, not even bothering to keep Sirius and James from imitating pigeons. Mrs. Potter kept attempting to lure her husband into a conversation, and Aubrieanna couldn't do more than pick at her food.

Finally, the meal was over. Aubrieanna pushed her chair in and started to head to her room. She had received another letter from Lily that she needed to reply to, but Mr. Potter stopped her.

"Aubrieanna, would you like to play something for us, please?" He asked.

--

Within a few days, Aubrieanna felt completely comfortable playing the Potter piano. Unfortunately, the moratorium on pranking had ceased along with her inability to play. Even more regretable was the fact that although James and Sirius weren't allowed to use magic, their pranking prowess remained superior.

One morning, Aubrieanna woke up, spent ten minutes trying to take a shower before she realized her bar of soap was covered in fingernail polish. She proceeded to waste an additional few minutes trying to turn the bathroom doorknob only to find that it was heavily coated in Vaseline. She proceeded to find a rubber fishing worm in her breakfast, and poured a large amount of salt in her cereal.

The rest of the day continued to be full of on mishap after another. Neither Sirius or James would snicker or otherwise incriminate themselves, and Aubrieanna was too proud to give them the satisfaction of a reaction. Aubrieanna finally managed to escape from the two of them by sneaking outside and climbing into the limbs of a willow tree. The long willow branches would effectively block Aubrieanna from James and Sirius's view, but they also locked in the oppressive summer heat. Supposedly, it was the hottest summer on record, and the papers kept pointing this fact out. It was almost as if the Daily Prophet hoped that by creating headlines about the weather, they could avoid the truly urgent developments on the wizarding world.

Even since the first articles featuring "You-Know-Who" had appeared, the wizarding world seemed determined to ignore any more bad news. More and more mysterious deaths and disappearances were being announced, enough that even someone as used to war and death as Aubrieanna was beginning to be alarmed. The real issue was that no one was doing anything.

_It's not your problem. _Aubrieanna told herself firmly. _You have more important things to worry about._ Still, she couldn't stop the feeling that her stomach was twisting inside her.

Until, that is, her stomach flew up into her throat.

Aubrieanna felt an arm wrap around her waist and lift her off the branch and through the foliage of the trees. She thrashed her arms around trying to find away to get her feet back on something hard, eventually mangaing to come into contact with the handle of a broom.

"Will you hold still?" An irritating voice from above her. "I'm not quite as good of a flyer as James is, and this is kind of difficult."

"Sirius Black, I swear on your mother's grave that if you do not put me down I will make you regret it." Aubrieanna shouted as the broom soared dangerously higher. "Damn it, Black! Put me down now!"

"If you promise to kill my mother, gladly." Sirius said before dropping her.

Aubrieanna let out a quiet screech as she plummeted through the air. The fall only lasted a few moments before a large pond of water broke her fall. Quickly swimming up to the surface of the water, Aubrieanna only managed a quick glimpse of James and Sirius giggling as the speed towards the house.

Aubrieanna dragged herself out of the pond and managed to get herself dry before dinner. She only just managed to sneak a small amount of sleeping powder into James and Sirius's drinks before they stomped down the stairs. Aubrieanna suffered in silence through a prank-filled dinner as James and Sirius's gloating smiles grew wider and wider before she went to bed. Even so, a small smirk adorned her otherwise innocent face as she fell asleep.

--

Aubrieanna was woken up by two in the morning by the screams of two teenage boys. Her satisfied smirk burst into a massive, beaming smile. Swinging herself out of bed, she pulled on a pair of jeans and headed into the hallway to observe the fruits of her labor.

James and Sirius were both duct taped securely to their beds that had been laid upside down on the staircase railing. There noses were inches away from a bubbling vat of liquid.

"Aubrieanna, get me down!" Sirius shouted.

"Get _us _down_._ Both of us you idiot_."_ James said to Sirius angrily.

"After she gets one of us down, we can let the other one down," Sirius said,. "And I look best in pajamas."

"He has a point, James." Aubrieanna said. "Unfortunately, I don't intend to let either of you down. I'm just so exhausted from my awful day that I doubt I could stay awake long enough to help you. Sorry, but I must get some sleep. Toodles."

Aubrieanna fell back asleep to the sound of angry swearing.


	3. In Which We Read the Paper

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.**

A well-rested Aubrieanna was present for breakfast the next morning, however she was the only one who looked remotely pleased. Sirius and James, who had apparently managed to set themselves free, looked completely disheveled, and Thea was muttering something about how it made no sense for the entire supply of baking soda and vinegar to completely disappear. The most disturbed person present was Mrs. Potter, who was pacing and wringing her hands. Mr. Potter was nowhere to be found.

When the Daily Prophet owl tapped at the window, Mrs. Potter quickly jumped to open the window. The typically amiable woman ripped the paper from the bird's talons and attempted to hide its contents from the three teenagers behind a plate of bacon she was taking back to the kitchen. Despite Mrs. Potters best efforts, Aubrieanna and James managed to glimpse the headline, however, and quickly exchanged looks. Sirius looked up too, but only to glare violently at Aubrieanna before returning to his toast.

Once Mrs. Potter had returned from the kitchen, she murmured excuse about needing to find a scarf upstairs. As his mother fled, James whispered, "Did you see what that said?"

"You mean, 'Ministry's Six-Year Secret'?" Aubrieanna frowned.

"Yes, that one. I bet that's why Dad not here. He must have been called in for work." James replied nervously. "I wonder what it's all about?"

"You don't think it's about that dark wizard?" Sirius asked, swallowing his toast. "You know, the one that they won't name?"

"I don't know, but I have my own copy of the Daily Prophet coming in five minutes." Aubrieanna said. The three of them exchanged meaningful glances. Within moments, all three of them were crowded around the open window in Aubrieanna's room.

"You know, I've never really noticed how… floral it is in here." Sirius said, looking at the wallpaper uncomfortably.

"If you watch them closely, they start to grow." Aubrieanna said solemnly, smirking as Sirius stared at the wall more intently.

"Owl, one o'clock!" James shouted, pointing out into the distance. He leaned out in order to get the paper first, but Aubrieanna promptly grabbed it from him.

"My paper, I get first read." She said, sitting down on the bed and looking at the first page.

In truth, Aubrieanna couldn't focus enough to read the whole article. Phrases kept jumping out at her that really spoke for themselves. _For eight years, the Ministry has been part of the largest cover-up in the history of Britain. This cover-up has endangered the entire wizarding community and caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent wizards and witches…. The rise of the so-called "Dark Lord" was only made known to the public this Spring following a hastily covered-up attack on the ministry building itself… The dark wizard that has been terrorizing the magical community was identified as a possible threat to the wizarding world by the Ministry of Magic as early as 1968... He was officially classified as a danger and threat to society in 1970 when he caused the deaths of 45 wizards... To date, he is blamed for the deaths of 638 Muggles and wizards as well as an immense number of disappearances… If captured, he will be charged with the use of all three Unforgivable Curses… The recent explosion near London is reported to be his work… Hundreds of attacks on Muggles have occurred... Assuming the scale of his attacks continues, it is expected that Muggles will discover the wizarding world in 3 years… _

The list of act that had been committed by this monster covered the whole front page. How could all of these atrocities been kept hidden for so long? Stunned, Aubrieanna finally stopped reading and handed the paper over to James. She looked up at Sirius, who promptly summed up the situation.

"Oh shit."

--

Mr. Potter was conspicuously absent for the rest of the day. Mrs. Potter seemed to walk around in a daze. James's emotions would quickly change from a disbelief that anything like this could happen, and complete fury that the Ministry, and by association, his father, could hide something like this. One moment, he would be staring blankly at the wall, the next he would catch a glimpse of a photograph with his father in it and would rage out of the room, slamming doors as he went. Sirius was nowhere to be found, and by mid-afternoon, Aubrieanna couldn't take another moment of the tense silence building up in the house. She slipped outside and once again took refuge in the willow tree.

Even out in the warm sunshine, Aubrieanna couldn't dispel her concern. _Some of those numbers are worse than the ones back home. _She thought. _At least now they will be able to start to do something about it… _She frowned. Nowhere in the article had it said something about what came next. It seemed like no one knew anything about the wizard responsible. _No one except the Ministry. _Aubrieanna thought darkly. _And they clearly aren't sharing everything they know. _

For a moment, Aubrieanna had a fleeting homesick feeling. Home may be dangerous, but at least she was able to _do _something about it. Thinking about home was always a bittersweet feeling, but comparing home to here made her feel guilty and miserable. The honest truth that there were things about the wizarding world that she liked better than home seemed disloyal, but it was only in the wizarding world that she could live something that resembled a normal life. Now even that was threatened.

Aubrieanna was brought back to reality by a sting on her leg. She looked down to see that Sirius Black was trying to climb up the tree. Aubrieanna glared at him, but he only smacked her leg with one of the willow's whip-like branches.

"Scoot over." He demanded.

"Why should I?" Aubrieanna asked.

"Because otherwise, I'll get the broom out again." He threatened.

Aubrieanna grudgingly slid over as Sirius swung himself up. "What do you want?" Aubrieanna asked with a scowl.

"Actually, I just wanted to sit in my tree." He said.

"Your tree? Wouldn't it be the Potter's tree? Or, seeing as I was sitting her first, _my _tree?" Aubrieanna said indignantly.

"Well, I was staying here before you got here, and even then this was my favorite tree." Sirius said. "Although, to be honest, I prefer that branch." He said pointing up.

"Well, I prefer sitting somewhere I don't have to worry about breaking my neck." Aubrieanna retorted.

"I gathered that from the flying incident the other day." Sirius smirked.

"I still haven't smacked you for that."

"Wasn't hanging me upside down over a tub of toxic acid enough?"

"No. And it wasn't acid, it was vinegar and baking powder." Aubrieanna said.

Sirius quickly covered his surprise. "Vinegar is an acid." He said defensively.

"Not a strong enough one that contact with it should make you scream like a girl."

"And you're one to talk. You were hollering pretty loudly yesterday."

"I am a girl, and you dropped me from twenty-five feet in the air without warning. I was allowed to scream." Aubrieanna pointed out.

"Hmm…" Sirius sounded unconvinced. A smile spead across his face, as if he was getting a dangerous idea.

Aubrieanna quickly changed the subject. "So, how long are you staying with James?"

"Indefinitely." Sirius said abruptly, smile disappearing.

"Family had enough of you then?" Aubrieanna joked.

"Like you're one to talk." Sirius suddenly spat back. "As I recall, your brother tried to get you killed and your father can't even bare to look at you."

Aubrieanna's smirk was replaced with a glare. "Was that comment really necessary?"

"Was yours?" Sirius was giving a far off tree a look that should have withered it.

"I don't know what goes on with your family, Sirius. The fact that mine is a complete disaster is obviously well known, so there's no need for you to go bring it up." Aubrieanna growled. "Besides, I think I have it a little worse than you."

"My family kicked me out." Sirius pointed out.

"So did mine, _after _my half-brother sent me to jail."

"My _whole_ brother wants to see me dead."

"My father wishes I didn't exist." Aubrieanna replied.

"My father wants to disown me."

"My sister's tried to kill me."

"My mother…" Sirius stopped. "My mother's just a bitch."

Aubrieanna let out a mirthless laugh. "Your lucky. My mother's dead remember." Aubrieanna said.

For a few moments, niether of them talked. Finally, Sirius asked, "Are you sorry?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Aubrieanna looked at him incredulously.

"I don't know. Sometimes I don't think so."

The two of them paused for a moment. Aubrieanna plucked a leaf off of the tree and began to systematically dissect it.

"Are you glad to be living with the Potters?" Sirius asked finally.

"Define glad."

"Is there anywhere else you'd rather live?"

"At my house, back home."

"With the other Faynes, you mean?" He sounded doubtful.

"They are my family, you know." She said, offended.

"Yeah, but isn't this easier. I mean, the magic doesn't cost you anything. You don't have to bleed yourself…" Sirius shuddered.

"It's not about the magic." Aubrieanna said.

"But still, isn't it healthier for you to be here?"

"Sirius, there's a deranged wizard on the loose killing everyone who gets in his way."

"Still…" He trailed off. "Is it nice back… Back where you come from? Are there trees?"

Aubrieanna couldn't help laughing. "You are so stupid. You can find out anything you want about the mysterious and deadly land of the Faynes, and you ask if there's _trees_?"

"I think it's a valid question." Sirius pouted.

"Well there are. And there's water and woodland creatures too." Aubrieanna rolled her eyes.

"Well, you don't use wands, and that seems completely bizarre to me."

"No, but we have cars."

"What?" Sirius asked.

"You know, cars. Big, moving metal things… I know you're taking Muggle studies. Surely you've at least _mentioned _cars."

"I know what a car is, but why do you have them? I mean doesn't everyone there use magic?"

"Everyone knows about magic, and everyone uses magical things, but not everyone can actually do magic."

"Why not?"

"It's all in the blood." Aubrieanna said, shrugging.

Sirius's vilent glare surprised her. "That's sick. Do you seriously deny people the ability to do magic because of who their parents are?" He demanded.

"We don't deny people anything, Sirius. If people don't have enough blood to belong to any one house, they just can't do magic. It's like being a squib, except it happens more frequently."

"What are houses?" Sirius asked. "Not like school houses, surely."

"It's where you get you're power. What family you come from, and all. All the magical power in Ovolonia is split between three houses, so if you aren't related enough to any of them, you just can't do magic."

"That would be awful. I can't imagine not being able to do magic." Sirius said.

"Well, we don't use little spells as much as you do, so it doesn't seem to matter as much."

"But you all use cars?"

"Yes."

"Even people who can do magic."

"Usually. I mean, you could create a portal, but it's tricky and you have to have a lot of complicated information…"

"So, _you_ for example, have ridden in a car."

"Yes. I've driven a car, even." Aubrieanna didn't mention that the car in question was currently a permanently sessile lawn ornament.

"No kidding!" Sirius shouted. "That's so cool. I'm definitely learning how to drive. I've heard that if you get a motorbike, it's similar to driving a broom. Is it?"

"I don't know, I've never ridden on a broom."

"You're lying." Sirius said, shocked. "I mean, you must be lying, you rode on one yesterday."

"No, I hung from one yesterday, and given the success of that experience, I don't really want to ever do that again." Aubrieanna replied pointedly.

"Oh, but it's fun."

"It's stupid."

"Now I'm going to have to teach you how to fly."

"No thank you."

"It's perfectly safe. Trust me, I've seen James do the stupidest things you could imagine on a broomstick, and he's completely fine."

"That is a matter of opinion."

"If you don't let me teach you, I'll just have to force you to learn."

"No thank you."

Sirius ignored her. "James will never believe this. He'll side with me, of course. I mean, _everyone_ should know how to ride a broom. It's like being able to tie your shoes…"

"You aren't teaching me to ride _anything_." Aubrieanna protested.

"Was that an innuendo, because…"

Sirius promptly found himself knocked out of the tree.

--

Dinner that night was a fairly miserable attempt at normalcy. Mr. Potter was still absent, and Mrs. Potter made a weak attempt at explaining his absence away as routine Ministry work. Neither Mrs. Potter or James were able to display much of an appetite, although James was certain to make a point of expressing his anger by mutilating his vegetables. Sirius and Aubrieanna attempted to start a conversation, but the somber mood of the two present Potters quickly dampened their spirit. After the meal was finally over, Aubrieanna wandered upstairs to her room. The morning's paper was scattered across the floor. Clearly, James had read it cover to cover in an attempt to understand what was happening. To Aubrieanna's surprise, a small owl was resting on her dresser. She quietly relieved the bird of its message and sat on her bed. It was a letter from Lily.

_Aubrieanna,_

_I'm riding the train to Bath right now. My aunt, (actually, she's like my cousin twice removed and only by marriage, but were more like sisters than Petunia and I are, not that that says a lot), is letting me stay with her and work at her ice creamery there. Luckily for you, Bath is remarkably close to where you have been trapped with the two miscreants, so if you need a day off from the wankers, you can come visit me. Anyway, hope to see you soon. My aunt says Bath is full of excellent shops and gorgous boys, and I fully intent of taking advantage of both. It will be more fun if you were here though._

_Write back,  
Lily_

_P.S. My aunt says she's looking for someone to cover for one of her waitresses for two weeks in August in July and wanted to know if I knew anyone who could stand working from two to five, which is apparently the big rush hour for all frozen dessert establishments, hint hint._

Aubrieanna sighed. Clearly, Lily had sent her letter before she had received the morning news. Lily had been panicked about the first attacks on the Ministry earlier that spring, and Aubrieanna knew that the news would affect Lily as badly as it had James. Lily was very close to her family, and the Daily Prophet had mentioned unwarranted Muggle attacks several times. Now, Lily would be miles away from her family. Aubrieanna frowned and stared out the window. _This is not good. This is not good at all._


	4. In Which We Meet at Midnight

**Author's Note: School is now over and I should be home most of the summer, so review angrily if I don't update about once a week.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Don't remind me.**

Aubrieanna was awoken by a loud bang. Sitting straight up in bed, she quickly reached under her mattress a grabbed a knife that shone slightly in the light coming through her bedroom window. Holding the lethal-looking object in one hand and her wand in the other, she carefully opened the door and looked out into the hallway. Wincing as another loud crash came from downstairs, she crept down the creaking steps and ducked behind a large cupboard.

"What right did you have to keep this from people!" Aubrieanna heard James's angry voice carry from the kitchen and let out a sigh of relief. It was just James and not any sort of dark wizard.

"Damn it, James, I was trying to save lives." Mr. Potter responded angrily. Aubrieanna stayed very still. _I probably shouldn't be listening to this…_ She thought, and began to head back up the steps. Unfortunately, Mr. Potter stopped shouting just as the stairs let out a full-fledged groan. Quickly backing off the step, Aubrieanna waited anxiously for the shouting to continue.

"By keeping information from people? How many fewer disappearances would there have been if people had known a dark wizard was loose?"

"People already knew that something was going on, James. Most of the disappearances were Ministry workers…"

"And the rest were Muggleborns and their completely defenseless families! What the hell were you doing about that?"

"Trying to catch He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…"

"His name is Voldemort, Dad. Everyone knows that now, no thanks to you…"

"You have no right to be lecturing me on this, James. I did what I had to do and…" Aubrieanna heard the fire in the kitchen flicker to life and was bathed in the momentary green glow of flue powder.

"John?" A new voice whispered urgently. "John, are you there?"

"I'm right here, Diggory. What's the matter?" Mr. Potter replied.

"There's been an attack. Three actually, all Muggleborn wizards. Their houses are destroyed, and some sort of enchantment is floating above the house. We don't know if there are any survivors, and we want you to come check it out."

"Of course, let me run upstairs and tell Vera I'll be going." Mr. Potter said, already heading for the steps.

It was then that Aubrieanna realized that she, an ex-convict, was lurking in the corner of a Ministry official's house with a wand in one hand and a knife in the other. Taking the stairs three-at-a-time, Aubrieanna reached the second floor, wrenched open the bedroom door, and flung herself inside.

"Merlin!" Aubrieanna heard a voice hiss as a tall figure sprung up from the floor, hitting his head off a shelf in the process.

Aubrieanna's immediate reaction was to lift up her knife and wand, and point them at the intruder. Then she recognized the voice. "Sirius, what the bloody hell are you doing in my room?"

"Funny," Sirius said, rubbing where he had hit his head. "I was going to ask you the same question."

Aubrieanna looked around. The walls were not covered in flowers, and the bedspread was a deep red. This wasn't her room. "Shit." She said. "I opened the wrong door."

Sirius smirked, and Aubrieanna wanted to rip his head off. "Panicked a bit while running up the stairs, did we?" Sirius asked.

"Shut up." Aubrieanna hissed. Sirius opened his mouth to further humiliate her, but paused as he heard the sound of Mr. Potter running back down the stairs. It was the pause in conversation that gave Sirius the chance to notice the knife. His eyes widened, and as soon as the two of them heard the small pop of apparation he began to whisper angrily.

"What the hell do you have that for?" He asked.

"What do you think? I heard a loud crash, and given the news today I thought…"

"That you could defeat the most murderous wizard the world has seen in thirty years with a knife?" Sirius said incredulously.

"Or that I could blow him up with a particularly violent spell." Aubrieanna said pointedly, Sirius shuddered, no doubt remembering the horror stories he had heard about Fayne magic. "Anyway, what were you doing hiding under the bookshelf?"

"The same thing you were doing out in the hall, listening to James scream at his father."

"He's not happy is he?" Aubrieanna said, absentmindedly twirling her knife between her fingers.

"No, he's not and…" Sirius's eyes nervously followed the knife. "Damn it, Aubrieanna, will you please put that down!"

Aubrieanna rolled her eyes, but set the knife down on Sirius's dresser before sitting down on the floor. Sirius joined her. "Does James usually lose his temper like that?" She asked worriedly.

"No. I've only seen him this mad once, and… It wasn't pretty." Sirius frowned, and stared off into space. "The only way he got over it was after a long, long time away from…" Sirius looked away guiltily. "From the person he was mad at."

"Well, seeing as James and his father both _live_ here, it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon." Aubrieanna pointed out, wondering briefly what Sirius could have done to make James so mad.

"Not unless we can find somewhere for him to go." Sirius said thoughtfully.

"I suppose we could try Bath…" Aubrieanna said slowly.

"The room or the city?"

"The city, you twit. Lily just invited me there to visit her and her aunt, and although I don't think she particularly wants to see either of you,…"

"What gives you that idea?" Sirius demanded.

"She commonly refers to you as 'those heinous miscreants'." Aubrieanna pointed out.

"We prefer the term 'marauders'." Sirius pouted.

"That name will never catch on, Sirius."

"The little firsties like it."

"They're eleven and don't know any better, but that's completely besides the point. If we could convince Mrs. Potter that I needed help finding my way, working with Muggle transport and all that…"

"I hate to break it to you, but James and I aren't so hot at the train system either."

"Does Mrs. Potter know that?"

"Yes. It will sound much more realistic if you pretend to be afraid of this 'You-Know-Who' chap and claim you need bodyguards."

"I'm not pretending to be a damsel in distress, Sirius."

"This is James's relationship with his father we're talking about. Just think, if they don't make up, it will be up to the two of us to carry on the dinner conversation. You'd have to talk to me for an hour a day for the rest of the summer _without swearing at me_." Sirius threatened.

"Past records show that I can hold my tongue better that you can." Aubrieanna pointed out.

"Trust me, I…" Sirius began, but he was interrupted as the door swung open.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" James looked livid "Think about it, Sirius, lives could have been…" He took a look around noticed Aubrieanna for the first time. "What the bloody hell is she doing here?"

"We were…", both Sirius and Aubrieanna began, but James didn't let them finish.

"I'm sitting downstairs having the argument of my life with my father and you, Sirius, my best friend are sitting up here have some sort of midnight rendezvous with a girl you have previously described as 'Satan'?" James's usually pale complexion was reaching a dangerous shade of puce.

"James, it's not like that. There has been no rendezvousing." Aubrieanna insisted quickly.

"And were are both here because we are _very_ concerned about your disagreement with your father." Sirius said, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately, the mere mention of James's father sent him over the edge again.

"It's not a disagreement," James protested. "It's a complete betrayal of trust. What he did was wrong, and he won't even try to apologize for it."

"James, cut him some slack. It sounds like he has more important things to worry about than…" Aubrieanna began.

"Than being concerned for the wellbeing of the wizarding world? That's his _job_ Aubrieanna. It's what people trust him to do. I just can't believe that he could be capable of…"

Sirius stood up, crossed the room, and gave James's shoulders a little shake. "He's doing the best he can. These are bizarre times, James. It's not your father's fault. Anyway, as far as not believing what your own father is capable of, look around; you're preaching to the choir. My dearest Dad is a pure-blood maniac who disowned me, and Aubrieanna's…"

"Mine would rather have a demented murderer, probably in league with You-Know-Who for a son than me as a daughter." Aubrieanna concluded.

James sighed deeply, and Sirius continued. "Now, I was just talking to Aubrieanna about how she would love to visit one Lily Evans in Bath this weekend. She was a little worried about finding her way there, and even more worried about… Well about everything else going on right now. She'd love to go, but doesn't want to travel alone. You know how women get."

Aubrieanna gave Sirius a glare that should have sent daggers into his heart, but thankfully, James was too upset to notice.

"Aubrieanna wants us to take her to Bath?" James repeated.

"Just until she meets up with Lily; we could all have lunch. Then you and I could try to see who could get the most girls' telephone numbers or something." Sirius stopped and looked meaningfully at Aubrieanna.

After a lengthy pause, Aubrieanna attempted to swallow her pride. "Please, James? It would really mean a lot to me."

Apparently, James did not hear the sarcasm in Aubrieanna's voice, because after giving it a moment's thought, he nodded.

Sirius beamed. "Great, will talk to your mum about it tomorrow. Now, you've better get some sleep, James. You look as bad as Remus when… Well, you know when."

"That bad?" James asked.

"Positively." Sirius said, shoving James out the door. "Off to the land of Nod, Prongs."

Once James had left, Sirius turned to Aubrieanna. "You could have been more enthusiastic, you know." He hissed.

"You could have not ignored my refusal to play a poor, helpless girl." She retorted. "And what was with that lunch with Lily and me? I told you that Lily wouldn't want to see you."

"Ah, but that cinched the deal for James." Sirius smiled knowingly.

"He _wants_ to get beaten to a bloody pulp?"

"Did you miss the bit last year where he asked her out in front of the whole school, Aubrieanna?" Sirius said incredulously.

"No, in fact I distinctly remember Lily saying that she'd rather go out with the giant squid. I just thought that he would be over that by now."

"He's not. See, James has a tendency to get a little obsessive sometimes. He was thinking about asking her out for a long time before that, and last year it kind of just burst out of his mouth because he's not too bright. Unfortunately for Evans, once James sets his mind to something, nothing can stop him."

"Have you _met _Lily. Trust me, one meal with her and James will be too afraid for his life to even think about going out with her."

"She went out with that Munch kid for a while, and that went smoothly."

"She never described Munch as a heinous miscreant."

"Well look, it's a win-win situation. Either James gets Lily to not hate him quite so much, or he is cured of his infatuation. Either way, everyone's happy."

"Except Lily, and by association, me."

"You are the most obstinate…" Sirius said, pointing at Aubrieanna and taking a step closer to her just as James re-opened the door.

"Sorry, Sirius, I think I dropped my… Why is Aubrieanna still here?" He asked suspiciously.

"I have no idea." Aubrieanna replied, glaring.

"You don't have to be such a bitch all the time." Sirius sneered.

James rolled his eyes and groaned. "Great, my house-mates are going to keep me up with a lover's spat all night. I guess I could be kept up by worse things…"

"James, if you weren't suffering sever emotional trauma right now, you'd be dead. Dead, you hear me?" Aubrieanna growled.

For the first time that night, James attempted a smile. "Whatever." He held the door open. "Ladies first, Aubrieanna, unless you need to spend more time with Sirius here…"

Aubrieanna glared at James as she left the room. He was clutching his sides in silent laughter. "I must not kill emotionally troubled house-mates." She said to herself. "I must not kill emotionally troubled house-mates…"

--

The next morning, an extremely tired Aubrieanna tried to allow herself the luxury of sleeping in. Unfortunately, the weather was already unbearably hot and humid by seven-thirty. Just as Aubrieanna became resigned to dragging herself out of bed , Sirius Black burst into her room and jumped on her bed.

"Are you up?" He asked loudly.

"Gee, between the sweltering heat and the complete moron, how couldn't I be?" Aubrieanna said.

"Your bed is more squishy than mine." Sirius noted. "I think that Mrs. Potter and Thea like you more just because you're a girl."

"Maybe they like me better because I'm all around better looking."

"Not when you first get up you aren't." Sirius laughed.

Aubrieanna glared. "Why are you here anyway? Just to conduct a test on the comfort of the beds?"

"No, I have an important purpose." Sirius said haughtily.

"You just keep telling yourself that."

"I'll have you know that while you've been snoozing away in you comfy bed, I have been hard at work charming Mrs. Potter into letting you visit your dearest friend Lily. I told her how much you two rely on each other for support, and how troubled you are by current events…"

"And?" Aubrieanna pressed.

"You're supposed to owl her today and see if you can come over tomorrow." Sirius said triumphantly. "You might want to mention the fact that you are bringing two attractive and famished escorts with you."

"Great. Just great. I'm sure Lily will be so pleased."

"Oh, and there's one other thing I think you should probably be aware of." Sirius mentioned.

"What did you do?" Aubrieanna demanded.

"I did absolutely nothing and will refuse to give you any information if you don't apologize immediately."

"I am so terribly sorry that I would ever think of accusing you of anything." Aubrieanna said earnestly.

"Apology accepted."

"Although, if I used any of my past experiences with you , surely you can understand why I might be worried that you were going to cause me pain or suffering."

Sirius glared. "For your information, I had nothing to do with this."

"What exactly is 'this'?"

"Mrs. Potter knows when your birthday is." Sirius grinned evilly.

"Well, year Sirius, I would assume that, as my legal guardian, Mrs. Potter would be aware of my birthday."

"And it's in the summer."

"Very good, Sirius, August is in the summer."

"So she wants to throw you a party."

"I like cake as much as the next person, Sirius. I'm not really sure what the problem is here."

"The problem is that by party, Mrs. Potter doesn't mean cake and ice cream. She means one-hundred guests in formal attire dancing around in circles. I can just see in now; you in a large, poufy dress dancing with a blonde Beauxbaton's beau."

Aubrieanna's jaw dropped. "Like a ball?" She asked, horrorstruck.

Sirius's evil smile grew. "Exactly. Now, don't forget to send that letter to Lily." He said, heading for the door. "Oh, and Aubrieanna?"

"What?" She squeaked, still contemplating the horrors in store for her.

"Don't let on that you know about the party, it's supposed to be a surprise, and remember, you didn't hear it from me." Sirius said, laughing maniacally.

Aubrieanna groaned angrily and threw her pillow at the retreating figure.


	5. In Which We Eat Lunch

**Author's Note: I'd love to see a bit more feedback on this story. I'm always worried Aubrieanna will do something out-of-character, but she's such a force now that _she's _telling me what to do. The problem is, we all know Aubrieanna isn't always the most prudent of people. If anyone is ever confused about something or if anyone notices anything that goes against cannon, let me know and I'll try to fix it. Of course, you all know I don't own Harry Potter. Now, on with the show!**

The next morning, Aubrieanna entered the train station flanked by two clueless boys, pointing dumbfounded at everything in sight.

"I _know _that you two have traveled by train before." Aubrieanna said irritably. "You use platform nine-and-three-quarters,"

"Which is full of wizards." Sirius countered, just before he burst out laughing at a middle-aged woman who was kicking abroken-down vending machine.

"And you traveled to London a few days ago to get that cupboard for Mrs. Potter." Aubrieanna continued, rolling her eyes.

"But Mom was there to stop us from saying anything stupid." James said, ruffling his hair for the thousandth time. James had spent twice as much time as Aubrieanna primping in the bathroom. Apparently he had been attempting to get his hair to lie flat. Aubrieanna couldn't help but laugh at the memory of James trying to extract not one, but _three_ gel-saturated combs from his mop of hair. He had even enlisted Aubrieanna's help, but Aubrieanna could barely style her own fairly manageable hair. The result resembled Jimi Hendrix more that James Potter. Thankfully, James had washed everything out and his hair was, more or less, back to normal.

"And who are you more afraid of, James? Your mother or me?" Aubrieanna gave her best death glare, but her two "body guards" were so distracted by a booth selling stamps that they not only missed the threat but almost ran into a bewildered-looking mailman. Aubrieanna finally managed to steer James and Sirius to the train and, without much additional consternation, they were off.

"So, ever been to Bath before, Aubrieanna?" James asked cheerfully. Aubrieanna wasn't sure how much of his chipper mood was due to the prospect of visiting Lily and how much was an act designed to hide how angry James still was at his father.

"No, have you?" Aubrieanna replied distractedly. A letter had arrived from her from home, and she was quite excited to read it.

"I have actually. It's a nice enough city and has a sizable wizarding community. There's quite a good Quidditch team there, actually…" As James trailed on about the relative talent of the chasers and keepers, Aubrieanna reached into her back pocket to retrieve her letter. Then she checked her other pocket. Then, the pockets in the light-weight coat of Lily's that she had borrowed before term ended but never returned.

Aubrieanna mentally listed all the places it could have been. She had definitely had it when they had been buying tickets, but after that… _Shit, I can't lose that letter…. Shit!_

"Looking for something?" Sirius asked far-too innocently.

"Yes, a letter. You wouldn't happen to have seen it, would you?" Aubrieanna said suspiciously.

"Possibly." Sirius replied, smirking just enough to make Aubrieanna want to smack him. Instead she glared viciously.

"You know, Sirius," James said, finally realizing that no one was paying attention to his monologue on the importance of Quaffle regulations, "you might want to give her that letter; she's starting to look like your mother on a bad day."

"I'm just curious to see who she's writing to." Sirius said, starting to slowly open the envelope. Aubrieanna lunged across the car and elbowed Sirius in the stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Having triumphantly retrieved her letter, she returned to her seat, still glaring at Sirius.

"Ow!" Sirius wheezed. "That was completely unnecessary…"

"I get _maybe_ two letters from home a month, Sirius. I happen to like to keep in touch with the people I grew up with, don't _you_?"

"Clearly you haven't met my cousins."

"I'm not really talking about my family in this case. If I ever get a letter from any of them, you _can _open it and see what curses fly out." Aubrieanna said spitefully as she opened the letter the rest of the way and began to read the pages, glancing up periodically to ensure that neither of her companions were plotting anything.

The news from home was worse that usual. It seemed like her sister had just returned from a six-month sabbatical and was wreaking havoc on the villages that bordered the two sides of the war. Lorcane was being abnormally brutal, even by her own standards. She was destroying just as many people loyal to the Standard as Rebels. _It's like she's getting more insane by the day. _Aubrieanna suppressed a shudder. Her birthday was in a little over a month now, and she couldn't deny that there was a chance, a good chance, that she would end up as warped as her sister. Aubrieanna and Lorcane were the last two members of the House of Death and would each receive half of the power allotted to their house. The shock of receiving that much power could easily destroy a Fayne, but Aubrieanna knew she would rather die than end up like her sister, a power-hungry, killing machine.

Aubrieanna was still lost in her thoughts when the train reached Bath. James and Sirius consulted a map to find the quickest route to Crompton's Creamery, where Lily was staying, and, after only two wrong turns, managed to find their destination. Entering the store, Aubrieanna quickly spotted Lily's red head. She was waiting on a pair of three year old twins, who were asking her to list every single flavor of ice cream available.

"Banana, hazelnut, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate conundrum, raspberry white-chocolate…" Aubrieanna could tell that Lily was about to throw her ice cream scoop at the two indecisive boys.

Finally their mother, a plump woman with curly brown hair broke in. "They'll have two chocolate cones, please." Lily rolled her eyes, but quickly scooped the ice cream and was just ringing up the bill when another woman came out of the backroom. She was tall and thin and reminded Aubrieanna very much of pictures of Lily's mother.

"Thanks for covering for me, Lily. I can't believe the freezer is on the fritz _again_." She said, smiling and the next people in line.

"Not a problem, Aunt Cal." Lily said, finally spotting Aubrieanna and waving at her.

"Well maybe you'd rather stay here than go off with your lost-looking friends there." Lily made a face, and the two of them laughed good-naturedly. "No? Well then, you go have fun with your friends. Tell me if you're going to be out past ten."

"Not a problem." Lily said, already rushing for the door, grabbing Aubrieanna by the arm and dragging her outside. James and Sirius followed.

"You came!" Lily exclaimed, hugging Aubrieanna, but completely ignoring James and Sirius.

"I told you I would." Aubrieanna responded, stepping backwards.

"Yeah, but still. It's so good to see you. I haven't talked with you since…"

"Since I was in St. Mungo's, I know."

"You look much better."

"I've been able to shower." Aubrieanna laughed. "So, how have you been. I know with the news…"

A shadow crossed Lily's face. "Let's not talk about that right now." She smiled again and continued. "How have you been getting on with those two?" Lily asked, pointing in Sirius and James's direction, giving James's frazzled hair a double take and a confused look.

"We have names!" Sirius replied indignantly.

"I can almost stand to be in the same room with them for extended periods of time." Aubrieanna laughed, ignoring the face James was making at her from behind Lily's back, then became more serious. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter are really great, though."

"How did they get landed with James, then?" Lily asked a little more meanly than was necessary. Aubrieanna inwardly grimaced. If Lily still hadn't forgiven James for embarrassing her in front of the entire school and harassing her ex-boyfriend Eric Munch yet, lunch would be more that awkward.

"Not a clue." Aubrieanna and Sirius said at the same time, causing James to glare at both of them.

"I hope you two realize how much more peaceful my house is when neither of you are in it." He said. Glancing at his watch he exclaimed, "Wow, is it really one already?"

"Time flies when you sit and watch Aubrieanna read a letter for forty-five minutes." Sirius said sarcastically. Aubrieanna glared at him, but Lily's raised her eyebrows at Aubrieanna. Since Aubrieanna had finally been able to tell Lily about the Faynes, she had found relief in being able to talk to someone about the problems back home. Lily would always at least _act _interested when these conversations came up. Aubrieanna still couldn't tell if Lily was truly fascinated or was just trying to help a friend.

"Well, is anyone else hungry for lunch?" James asked.

"Sure, I know a decent place to get sandwiches and stuff." Lily said, although more to Aubrieanna and Sirius than James.

"Lead the way, Milady." James said, offering Lily his arm. Lily pointedly ignored him and tried to walk beside Aubrieanna, but Sirius grabbed Aubrieanna's shoulder and held her back, forcing Lily to walk with James.

Aubrieanna would have glared violently at Sirius for this, but was too busy trying to hide her laughter as James attempted to entice Lily into a conversation.

"You look particularly nice today, Lily." He said, smiling.

"Thank you." Lily replied curtly.

"Bath must be agreeing with you. Are you enjoying your stay here?" James asked, still pleasant.

"Yes."

"That's great… Really great. You know, if you ever get bored here though, you can come over to my house. I know Mum would love to have some of Aubrieanna's friends over."

"I'll think about it." Lily said slightly sarcastically.

"Well, if you're interested, we're going to be having a little get together next week. Remus and Peter will be there, and you're certainly invited." James was entirely too hopeful.

"How is Remus?" Lily asked, turning her head to face Sirius.

"He's well. I think it gets lonely for him living out alone in the country, but Peter lives nearby. He does a lot of reading in his time off."

"He does a lot of reading, period." James laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with reading, James. Lots of educated people like to try it now and again." Lily pointed out, coldly.

"I never said there was, just that…" James faltered and ran a hand through his hair nervously as Lily confidently steered the four into the restaurant of her choice. After all of them had selected a sandwich, Lily turned the conversation back to Aubrieanna.

"So, Sirius said you had a long letter. I assume it was from home?" She asked.

"Yeah, things aren't looking so good there." Aubrieanna frowned.

"Worse that having a dark wizard running amuck?" James asked doubtfully.

"James, my county is in the middle of a civil war or I wouldn't be here." Aubrieanna said.

"And how's your sister." Lily continued, glaring at James.

"More vicious than ever."

"You said that you would be visiting soon, didn't you?" Lily asked, apparently concerned.

"I should be able to portal myself there once I turn sixteen." Aubrieanna said.

"And are you… Looking forward to it?" Lily asked.

"I'd like to see my friends, but…" Aubrieanna gave a meaningful look in Sirius and James's direction.

Lily nodded. "We'll talk later." She said as Sirius scoffed.

"What was that for?" Aubrieanna asked threateningly.

"I just can't believe that you don't trust us enough to tell us about your home. I mean, the entire wizarding world knows about it now, so it's not like you have to keep it a secret from us anymore."

"I've mentioned it before and all you've done is shudder shy away from it." Aubrieanna said.

"Like when?" Sirius demanded.

"Well, like any time I hold a knife."

"That's not because you're a Fayne, that's because you're you." Sirius countered. "I'm just hurt that you'll tell Lily about this letter but if I so much as touch it…"

"You _stole _it, Sirius." Aubrieanna said.

"Only because you don't inform us about anything."

"Sirius, it's not really any of your business." James warned, looking worriedly at Lily.

"I'm just saying, we're house mates and I think that…"

"Lily is my dorm mate. She lived with me all last year." Aubrieanna said as Lily proved her loyality by glaring at Sirius.

Sirius realized that he was outnumbered three to one. "It's up to you, Aubrieanna. I'm just saying that it wouldn't kill you to be more open about things." He said spitefully.

"Not everyone jokes about their problems constantly like you, Sirius." Aubrieanna said.

"I don't joke all the time." Sirius said loudly.

"This morning in the train you were laughing about hating your family." Aubrieanna pointed out.

"Is it like this all the time?" Lily whispered, voluntarily speaking to James for the first time.

"You have no idea." James said, just as Sirius responded to Aubrieanna.

"You're not really in any situation to lecture me about family matters, are you Aubrieanna? I mean, you've managed to piss off the only parent you have left…." He began.

"You want to know why I don't tell you anything, Sirius?" Aubrieanna interrupted. "Because you don't know how to keep your mouth shut about things people don't need reminded of!", and along with the delivery of their meals, a distinctly uncomfortable silence fell over the table. Only James was willing to attempt to continue a conversation, but after offering Lily the salt twelve times and insisting to pay for lunch, he too fell silent.

Sirius finished eating first, and as soon as James was done, they reminded Aubrieanna to meet them at the train station by ten thirty and left.

"Get in fights like that with Sirius often?" Lily asked.

"Well it's hard not to, isn't it. One minute he's joking around and teasing, or, on rare occasions, being a nice guy. Then he gets too damn comfortable and says something stupid. "

"He's an ass." Lily said before smirking. "You, of course, are never to blame."

"Never." Aubrieanna said, trying to ignore the truth in Lily's goad. "Anyway, forget about Sirius. I've been worried about you. How are you _really_ holding up? What with… You know, everything going on."

Lily sighed. "I hate this. I mean, Aunt Cal obviously doesn't know what's going on, and I can't tell her anything. I've warned my parents of the danger, but… I just can't get them to understand how dangerous magic can be. I mean, they've seen me do small things, but they just don't understand what… What You-Know-Who could do to them."

"A lot of people are in for a shock when they see what a real war is like. I know that most of the older people remember the Fayne wars, but those battles were never anything but skirmishes. There was Grindelwald, of course, but it seems like this wizard has already killed twice as many people."

"Is this what it's always been like for you?" Lily asked. "Are you always afraid for everyone back home?"

"Yes." Aubrieanna said. "I feel helpless and so weak, and in a few months…"

"You have to go back to that." Lily said sympathetically.

"I have to _lead _that, Lily." Aubrieanna bowed her head. "I'll be sixteen in just over a month now, the magical age when I'm expected to make everything alright again and stop a war that's been happening before I was born."

Lily frowned. "They don't expect all that from you, surely…"

"There are two members of the House of Death left: The two most powerful Faynes to exist since our branch of magic was first discovered. The three houses were founded as a way to separate the power and to share it, but it hasn't worked that way. The Standard killed so many members of the House of Death that it's down to my crazy sister and me."

"And when you turn sixteen you're just going to whisk off to Ovalon and try to stop her." Lily said doubtfully.

Aubrieanna shrugged. "I don't know what's going to happen when I turn sixteen. At home when a Fayne comes of age, all the other Faynes she knows comes to support her. Here, I don't know what will happen."

"I'll help." Lily said, and she meant to too.

Aubrieanna smiled. "At exactly eleven-twenty three p.m. on August the twenty-seventh, I'm going to receive enough power to potentially change me into someone worse than this You-Know-Who wizard. I really don't think you should be in the same room as me."

"It's not funny to joke about stuff like that." Lily frowned.

Aubrieanna considered telling her friend that it wasn't a joke. She considered telling her the story of her own sister's sixteenth birthday when Lorcane had torn the roof off of a castle that had been standing for three centuries and almost caused Aubrieanna and the five other members of the House of Death that had still been alive at the time to spontaneously combust. She thought about telling her how different her sister had been afterward, and how she had become a spy and traitor to her family. Aubrieanna knew, however, that Lily wasn't ready for that. She was still terrified of the concept of war that lay before her and couldn't deal with the additional problems of a war that she had never even seen.

Finally, Aubrieanna responded. "You're right, I'm being dramatic. And, even though war like this are awful, life goes on. Your family will probably be fine now that the Ministry has clued the rest of the world in. They'll be able to stop him."

"I hope so." Lily said softly.

"And don't forget, Lily, you and I can look out for your family too."

"You'll help?"

"Somehow, I don't see myself wasting time trying to help my own family out." Aubrieanna said, trying to lighten the mood. "So, what's fun to do here anyway?"

It's not there!


End file.
